Review note: OC Independent may have more bias because it is an advocacy voter guide compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources.
- ocvote.gov (opens in a new tab)OC Registrar of Voters — Election results, June 2, 2026 primary
- ocvote.gov (opens in a new tab)OC Registrar of Voters — Contest/Candidate Proof List, General Election 11/3/2026 (169 contests, 430 candidates filed)
- livevoterturnout.com (opens in a new tab)OC Registrar of Voters — certified June 2, 2026 primary results
- laist.com (opens in a new tab)LAist — OC Board of Supervisors District 4 race guide
- voiceofoc.org (opens in a new tab)Voice of OC — "Who's On Track to Be the Next Orange County Supervisor?"
- fullertonobserver.com (opens in a new tab)Fullerton Observer — "Election Update: Traut Leads as Vote Counts Shift"
- ballotpedia.org (opens in a new tab)Ballotpedia — Connor Traut
- ballotpedia.org (opens in a new tab)Ballotpedia — Tim Shaw
- ocindependent.com (opens in a new tab)OC Independent — "Tim Shaw Consolidates Support for County Supervisor"
- netfile.com (opens in a new tab)OC Registrar of Voters — e-filed campaign-finance transactions (NetFile)
Last updated September 21, 2026.
County
Orange County Board of Supervisors, District 4
This person is one of five supervisors who govern Orange County. They vote on the county budget. They also oversee health and social services. They set land use rules for unincorporated areas.
District 4's supervisor seat is open because Doug Chaffee did not seek a third term. June's four-way primary left the race uncalled. Buena Park Mayor Connor Traut led with 33.27% of the vote. Orange County Board of Education trustee Tim Shaw took 31.26%. They meet in a November runoff for a district that includes Anaheim and Fullerton.
Whoever wins takes a four-year term on the five-member Board of Supervisors, which sets a roughly $11 billion county budget covering law enforcement, public health, and social services, and acts as the city council for Orange County's unincorporated pockets. The next supervisor inherits a legal fight over the future of the Be Well Irvine mental-health campus and a county budget squeezed by Airport Fire payouts, discrimination settlements, and federal funding cuts.
The seat is formally nonpartisan, but this runoff sorts almost entirely along party lines: Traut carries the Orange County Democratic Party and its labor unions, Shaw carries the Republican Party of Orange County and its law-enforcement and business allies. It's also a rematch of sorts — Shaw ran for this same seat in 2018 and lost to Chaffee by less than a point, while Traut has never run countywide before.
Connor Traut
Connor Traut is the mayor of Buena Park and a consumer-protection attorney. He has served on the council since 2018 and wants more public safety funding. He is endorsed by outgoing supervisor Doug Chaffee and supervisors Katrina Foley and Vicente Sarmiento.
Tim Shaw
Tim Shaw is an Orange County Board of Education trustee and former La Habra councilmember. He lost this same District 4 seat to Doug Chaffee in 2018. He is a fiscal conservative who wants more public safety funding and school choice.
How the June count flipped
Shaw led by more than 3 points on election night. Late mail ballots, which typically break more Democratic, pulled Traut ahead over the following days, and the certified count gave him the edge, 33.27% to 31.26%. Term-limited Fullerton Mayor Fred Jung and La Habra councilmember Rose Espinoza split the remaining third of the vote almost evenly and did not advance.
Financial info
- Small donors
- Individuals
- PACs & committees
- Businesses & other orgs
- Self-funding
Tim Shaw
$110,816 raised
- Small donors$3,8864%
- Individuals$57,97355%
- PACs & committees$19,10018%
- Businesses & other orgs$23,70023%
- Self-funding$10<1%
Connor Traut
$251,636 raised
- Individuals$160,64264%
- PACs & committees$64,16926%
- Businesses & other orgs$26,82511%
1Figures are CA Form 460 filings through 2026-06-30, per the OC Registrar of Voters' e-filed transaction exports, retrieved 2026-09-21.
Your pick
A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot.